By DAMIEN CAVE
c.2010 New York Times News Service
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The early-bird special at Cafe Prima Pasta began last year after the restaurant’s owner, Gerardo Cea, lost all his savings in real estate and began seeing his regular customers at the supermarket.
“They weren’t coming anymore,” he said. “They couldn’t afford it.”
He expected his offer of a 50 percent discount before 6 p.m. to attract the usual crowd of frugal retirees. But word kept spreading, and on most nights now, at least half the tables are filled with young families, singles or hip couples – women in short skirts and men who prefer “dude” to “sir.”